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On the taxpayers’ backs

Feb. 27, 2013

Jack Boroski is the president of Hall High School Board, and I don’t feel it is lawful that any board member should try to influence people to their side of the story — that a “yes” vote in the upcoming election will ensure the students of the best possible education. A board member’s first responsibility is to the taxpayer, not his own personal prejudice.

We had these same arguments in 1999 when the school faced the decision to bring it up to code, which it did. There were two pages of the renovation project highlights. The projects involved were more than considerable, and if I were to name them, it would take much of two pages 8-by-11 sheets to cover what was accomplished.

Mr. Boroski should say we did much of what was done in 1999, way back in 1991 when money was spent to bring the school up to code then too.

How many times are we going to bring the school up to code? Or is bringing the school up to code only a ploy to tell the voters this has to be done, just to spend the taxpayers’ money? Does Mr. Boroski know there is an education fund and a building fund that is spent each year for school purposes?

Does Mr. Boroski know we are still paying taxes on the renovation project back in 1999, and we will be for another six or seven years? Does he also know the News Tribune is quoted as saying the taxpayers are going to add another $30 each month to their tax bill? That’s another $360 a year that property owners are going to pay.

Do renters know their rent is going to increase by $360 a year? It is difficult to get renters to pay their rent now, without adding additional costs.

The best education possible doesn’t come from spending $32,000,000. The best education possible comes first from “both” parents who are concerned about their children enough to be around to help them in their school work and real good teachers who take an interest in teaching those students, not the quotes from board members or from the design of the physical plant.

Now is not the time to be spending money people don’t have. The country is broke; the state is broke; and people are without work. And you want to burden taxpayers with more spending. I said this before that there is “nothing wrong” with the present school building, since we have already spent so much bringing the school up to code that people should vote “no” on the tax referendum.

We are spending $1.6 trillion and borrowing money to finance that spending, and you want to keep up the spending money by stealing money from our grandchildren to pay for your grand ideas.